To Trust The Love Of A Lover
by thegirlwhowondered
Summary: It was Shizune's job to teach Tezuka how to be a good student. Never in a million years would she guess that she would have something to learn from the flighty armless artist. And yet somehow, Rin manages to pass on perhaps the most important lesson in the world, that she'd only just learned herself. Post Rin's arc.


**Prompt: **(_from jordyboothy on Tumblr_) Rin's teachers are concerned about her and her low grades, so arrange for her to join alongside the Student Council president…

**Summary: **It was Shizune's job to teach Tezuka how to be a good student. Never in a million years would she guess that _she_ would have something to learn from the flighty armless artist.

**Parings:** Rin/Hisao (Post-Rin's arc); Shizune/Misha (Sort of. You'll see.) | [Neither is explicably obvious]

**A/N:** "…" denotes talking; '…' denotes sign language.

I have never, ever written a KS fic before, and so I'm aware my character representation may be off a smidgen. Also, I had no idea what would come out when I put my fingers to the keyboard, so...yeah. Hope I lived up to your expectations. Reviews are much appreciated! If there are any mistakes, let me know so I can fix them pretty please!

* * *

'Are you sure this is a good idea?'

'She is a little odd, I'll give you that-'

'Only a little?'

'We're the student council. It's our job to help our peers in their time of need, no matter how…idiosyncratic they are.'

'Of course you're right, Sicchan. You always are.'

Misha and Shizune both moved their gaze to the girl sitting across the table from them; their new pupil for the next week. Rin Tezuka.

Rin's teachers had been growing worried over the sudden decline in Rin's studies (all her teachers, that is, except for that Nomiya guy) and had asked Shizune if she, as Student Council President, could help Rin get back on track and find a balance between her art and her studies.

Shizune had accepted the responsibility, of course, and Misha had naturally stuck be her side, as fiercely loyal as ever. However, so far the three of them had been sitting there for the past half hour, a silence in the air so deafening that even Shizune could sense it.

Rin seemed to be the only one not affected by the tension. She was sitting perfectly still, her gaze fixed on something far out the window. It took Misha clearing her throat several times and saying Rin's name at least twice to get her attention.

"Are you alright there, Miss Tezuka?" Misha asked, putting on her most professional voice to replace the one Shizune would have used.

Rin nodded. "I was just wondering if clouds really are fluffy like in the cartoons, but only turn watery when someone touches them."

It took a full minute for Misha to actually comprehend this sentence, before passing the message on.

Shizune cocked an eyebrow and rubbed her hands together as she mulled over how to reply. Upon receiving her friend's response, Misha straightened up and beamed. "Wahaha~! What an interesting thought, Rin. And we will have time for interesting, creative thinking later. But for now, I trust – ah, that is, Sicchan trusts – that you understand why you're here."

Rin shook her head, but didn't really speak.

"Right…" Misha shrugged and continued her speaking for Shizune. "Well, your teachers would like me – ah, Sicchan, again – to help you get back on track with your studies. Wahaha~! Oh, we will have loads of fun together!"

Rin stared blankly at Misha before asking, "What am I supposed to do then?"

Shizune stood and picked up a small pile of papers, and a few pens. She gestured with her head for Rin to follow her, and lead her to where she had earlier set up a group of smaller desks, with three chairs around it. One of the chairs was actually a stool from the art room, so Rin would be up high enough to write with her feet and still be able to see properly.

Shizune was rather proud of her little setup, and was a bit put-off when Rin showed no sign of being impressed. Still, like the responsible, mature young woman she always wanted to be taken for, she shrugged it off.

Misha on the other hand, not for the first time, gave Shizune an enthusiastic thimbs up before plonking down in her seat.

Shizune dropped the pile onto the table and dragged her chair around so she was directly opposite Rin, sitting in it with far more grace than her constant companion. The armless artist was a bit flighty, and certainly very strange, but surely giving the girl a nudge in the right direction couldn't be too hard, right?

* * *

'This is impossible! It's our last day, and we've gotten nowhere.'

Shizune nodded in Misha's direction to indicate that she understood her frustration. 'You can always take a break.'

'And leave the work to you, Sicchan? We've been at this for a whole week and not made a difference. Besides, it can't really be easier for you to work all on your own-'

Misha wanted out of there; that much was obvious. But she didn't want to leave Shizune with the responsibility of teaching Rin all day on her own. Rin was a hard enough person to deal with normally, _teaching_ her something new was nearly impossible. And Misha had always been dedicated to Shizune, 100%. Shizune knew why, of course. But there wasn't a lot she could do about that. Not without risking all they had, anyway.

'Misha. Don't you have some catching up of your own to do?'

Misha gasped. 'Oh my, Sichhan, you're right!' Misha had a bad habit of forgetting homework until it was almost due. 'Oh, I have that whole assignment to do for Mutou! Sicchan, I'm really sorry to-'

'Go.' Shizune straightened her glasses, shooting her friend a look that left no room for debating. She was quite used to taking on the workload for others. In fact, if it wasn't for Misha, she would be performing all the student council duties on her own.

Misha nodded gratefully, the last of her indecision melting away. 'Thank you, Sicchan. Thank you, thank you, thank you!' She stood up, knocking her chair over in the process, and causing Rin to look up from the elaborate doodle she was drawing. "Uh, I hope you don't mind, Rin, but there's something I need to see to. So, I'll leave you in Sicchan's very capable hands-" Misha didn't realise what she'd said until it was too late. "Um. No, I didn't mean that. Uh, anyway."

Since Rin, didn't seem particularly affected by the comment, Misha brightened up. "Wahaha~! I am so thoughtless sometimes. You take care now, Rin. And good luck!"

Rin nodded, and Misha left the room without any further ado save for one last glance at Shizune; leaving the two of them alone.

Another hour ticked by where Shizune tried to get Rin to focus, with no success. It was not only frustrating, but very upsetting for Shizune. She hated feeling powerless; she hated not being able to fix everything. She just wanted to make sure it would all be ok…whatever 'it' was. That's all she ever wanted. Why could no one but Misha see that?

Irritated, she grabbed a blank piece of paper off the pile, scrawled something on it, and passed it over to Rin.

_You ought to be working on something productive._

Rin composed her reply with much more calamity and slid it back carelessly.

_This is productive._

That reply annoyed Shizune, but she did her best to keep her cool.

_Not towards our actual goal, it isn't. We've been trying all week to help you, but you aren't having it. How do you expect to ever pass anything besides art if you don't apply yourself? _

Rin frowned at this.

_I apply myself. _

_Not to your work._

_I don't see why I need to. _

_Because you will fail if you don't!_

_So?_

Shizune slapped her palm against her forehead.

_Rin. It's important that you pass all of your classes. _

_I don't understand._

_They're your __**classes**__! And if you fail them, you'll never get into any kind of tertiary education, let alone a decent career. Don't you want to study your art or something further? You need to finish your high school education for that. And you never will finish if you don't try. I'm putting all I can into this, but you have got to give a little too, here, you know!_

Rin studied the reply for a long minute before eventually nodding. _Why don't we make a deal? I'll apply myself more, but there's something I want to show you. _

Shizune blinked. Would it really be that easy? After a week of pushing Rin and getting herself all worked up, would coming to see whatever it is she wanted to show her be all it took? Eagerly, Shizune nodded.

_Alright, what is it?_

Rin got to her feet, and Shizune followed suit, taking a pad of paper and a pen with her.

Shizune stayed on the artist's heels as best as she could for a good half hour, barely keeping up with her carelessly brisk pace. Eventually, Rin came to a stop, and let Shizune catch up. Breathlessly, the Student Council President came to a stop behind her and dropped down onto the grass, her eyes scanning the meadow they'd come to. It was beautiful, yes, but Shizune didn't really see how it was relevant to…well, anything. She wrote just that on the pad and passed it over to Rin, who had sat down next to her.

It took Rin a while to respond, but when she passed the paper back, Shizune saw that her reply was quite a long one. While she read, Rin stood and walked a few feet away from her.

_I'm not good with words. I never name my paintings because I don't feel like any kind of name could make anyone understand it better. I'm not too good with numbers either. They're always the same, no matter who you are or how you look at them. They make me feel trapped. I'm not good with feelings. I can rarely tell what my own are. I can't hug people, I can't quite wrap my head around class and I can't ever seem to make any sense. All I have is my art. For a while I wondered if that made me a bad person. _

_Even if that were the case though, there isn't much I can do about it. All I can ever be is who I am; because if I wasn't, I would be someone else. I'm already a different Rin than I was a month ago, or a year ago, or a lifetime ago. It's ok to be a different Rin. But as long as I'm still me – albeit, a different one – I could never be someone else, and I shouldn't have to try. After all, being me can't be so bad, if Hisao manages to love me so much, right?_

_I will try with my classes, because you have been trying so hard with me. But I'm not going to fuss over understanding things that just aren't a me thing to understand. I'll only frustrate myself, just like I've been frustrating you all week. _

_Before I even try that, I want to understand the things that are me, and the things that make me happy. I don't know who I am, because I'm always changing into a different me. But I know who I'm not, and I'm not going to be that. This place gives me a feeling that everything in the world is alright. All I want is to feel like that all the time. __Classes don't do that. Good grades don't do that. T_he only way to do that is to keep with what I know. I want to stay with my art, and I want to stay with Hisao. They make me the opposite of the bad person I thought I was. 

Shizune placed the paper by her side and blinked into the sunlight as she stared at Rin. The artist was staring right at the sky, almost contemplatively, as though she wanted to memorise every last little shade of that brilliant blue.

Shizune couldn't fathom what for. Maybe Rin just really liked the colour blue. Or maybe she really, really liked the sky, and how bright and forever it was. Or maybe it was a combination of the two.

Whatever the case, just like Rin herself, Shizune knew she had no hope of understanding; just like Rin would never understand the organized way in which Shizune liked to work.

If there was one thing that Shizune was going to take away from this rather enigmatic week, it was that Rin would be ok after all.

Shizune left the paper where it was and came to stand next to Rin, absorbing the sunlight. She wasn't flighty or philosophical, like Rin. She preferred facts and order. She always made sure everything was perfectly set up to run smoothly, often to the detriment of her relationship with other people.

All other people, that is, except one. The only person, probably, who actually stuck by her, who knew exactly who she was – probably better than Shizune herself – and not only accepted it, but loved her for it. It was because of the love of this person that Shizune could look at herself every day and think that perhaps she was doing alright after all.

In her head, Shizune began to sort out her to-do list for the next day.

_Finish my English essay, get around to sending those e-mails…and I think it's time I had a good talk with Misha._


End file.
